Gordon Jones

Who was Gordon Jones?

Gordon Bassett Jones was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. The 6 feet, 190 pounds right-hander was a native of Portland, Oregon. He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before the 1949 season, and played for the Cardinals, New York Giants, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Athletics, Houston Colt .45s, and Houston Astros.

Jones made his major league debut on August 6, 1954, starting game 1 of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. The Cardinals lost by a score of 7–3. His rookie year of 1954 turned out to be his most successful season, as he was 4–4 with an earned run average of 2.00. Jones pitched two shutouts and allowed 18 earned runs in 81 innings.

In 1955 he started in 9 of his 15 appearances for St. Louis, but with much less success. His record was 1–4 with a 5.84 ERA. After that season, he pitched almost exclusively in relief. His best season after 1954 was for the original San Francisco Giants of 1958, going 3–1 with a 2.37 ERA in 11 games.